[IC] The Jade Stream

[Muttonhawk]

At first, Kyang thought that Liu's interrogation was going to involve more verbal convincing than torture. She tried to keep a straight face, but flinched as Liu sank a sword into the bandit's ankle. The clear pain that the man was in was not the easiest thing to watch. As soon as Kyang heard where Liu was going with his 'persuasion' next, Kyang silently excused herself and walked behind a tree. Instead of objecting, or leaving, or doing much of anything, she leaned against the tree, facing away from the scene. She brought one hand to her face and just tried to tune out for a while.

Kyang didn't know that Liu had that kind of cruelty in him. Whenever she had killed bandits, it was always quick. There was sometimes gore, but never any prolonged suffering for the sake of getting information. It just wasn't in Kyang to do something like that. Perhaps she should have spoken up earlier; she might have been able to convince the bandit to talk without crippling him.

The thud of a head landing on the grass prompted Kyang to finally peek out. A headless corpse was not quite as confronting as witnessing torture, but it didn't exactly improve Kyang's mood. "Is this the part where we collect bounty and stop torturing people?" Kyang asked, "I'd like to head back now."

[Zeroth]

"If we stop now, we leave this leader to gather more men and continue his crimes." Dai Xin pointed out. He hadn't reacted like the others had to the torture, but at the same time he knew that he certainly had not expected this from Liu. He hadn't thought the younger man could steel his heart so much.

"Young master, I know I am not what most would call moral," he said, turning and walking alongside Liu. "But if you felt he would not have divulged the information otherwise, you should have told me. I could have inflicted pain on him without crippling him--had it been decided that he would live to face trial--or at the very least, saved you the trouble. Things such as this can weigh on a man's mind." He folded his hands in his sleeves again, though he had to readjust somewhat because of the holes Xu Lao had cut in them. "But I do not want you to think I am scolding you. That man's own karma brought this upon him. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Liu bit his lip as Kyang and Torako berated him, the latter more indirectly than the former. He couldn't say that he was in the right; as fast as it was, something as sadistic as what he did would never be looked upon with praise, only scorn and disdain. But so long as it had gotten the job done, then for the moment it would do.

"I don't want to do it again. Don't worry," Liu said, his voice as heavy as his heart. "But it seemed like the most efficient way to get things done. Beating him back into unconsciousness would only waste more time, and given how bandits tend to act, I assumed that he'd be more apt to bite off his own tongue than be imprisoned for his crimes."

It was a flimsy justification, if nothing else, but that was the best way Liu could rationalize the whole ordeal. Xin's comment prompted a bitter smile from him, but it didn't help his mental state as much as the hunter had hoped it would.

"I know, but... You were injured from your earlier battle, and making you do any more work would just feel insensitive. Then again, I did just torture a man into submission, so what do I know about 'insensitive'?" Liu asked in response, a small, half-hearted laugh following soon after. "But no, any more fighting tonight will probably be too dangerous. You need to get healed and rest, and I need to get my shoulder checked out. We can get local enforcement sent over to check everything out here, and that should net us at least some reward. We can tie up any remaining loose ends tomorrow; at the very least, we can reclaim the looted goods, if not take out their boss."

Looking once more at the decapitated bandit's body, Liu grimaced and, drawing his jian once more, cut the vines binding the body in place. Leaving the body desecrated to that extent... There was only so far he could go before his own conscience started trying to shoot back.

"I'm going to head back to town; the longer that whatever's in my shoulder is stuck there, the more dangerous it is to my body. I'd hate to think that it was blocking a qi pathway or something similar."

Without another word, Liu placed the jian back into its sheath and began the trek back to Mingdu. After today, he really needed a good night's sleep to shrug this off. His mind, however, spoke otherwise.

---

The village, when he and the others returned, was just about ready to turn in for the night. The guards, of course, were shocked at the amount of blood on the group, but after a quick explanation and the rest, a few of the guards went to check the site for themselves. Excusing himself (and Xin) from the group after everyone was safely inside the town, the young hunter directed the martial artist towards to school for treatment as he himself went there. With Kyang's financial situation somewhat alleviated, he hoped that she could at least foot the bill for her own room that night.

Treatment went by quickly but painfully; only a dull painkiller was applied, so his wound was opened, the offending object removed (it WAS an arrowhead piece, after all), and subsequently healed. Told to stay overnight just in case of poisons or anything of the sort, Liu obliged; after all, he'd have to be as in-shape as possible for the fight tomorrow.

---

Liu was, by some chance or circumstance, able to sleep through the night without incident. Though the events of last night had weighed heavily on him, the whole experience had been tiring enough to knock him right out after the treatment had concluded. Testing his arm once more for mobility, Liu nodded before looking at his own uniform. Well, it wasn't as if he needed to be wearing it any more...

Taking a moment to switch sets of clothing, the hunter walked of the infirmary, if only to check the position of the sun in the sky.

Sunrise.

Would the others even be awake by now...?

[Zeroth]

"Good morning, young master. I hope there were no complications with your injury?"

Dai Xin stood on the roof, balancing on one leg and appearing to be in a semi-meditating state. Like many martial artists, his internal clock was geared towards an early rise so that he could do his daily training in peace. His own wounds seemed to have healed as well, though Liu wouldn't be able to see that there was a small white scar on one of his forearms. His brighter red robe and black shirt, which had taken most of the damage yesterday, had been replaced with a much darker themed set of clothes.

"If the ladies and yourself intend to continue your search for the bandit master, be cautious." he advised. His words were stilted as he altered the rhythm of his breathing, a common exercise in Qigong."I must see to my duel with the Five Wheel Striking School. However, if it is not too presumptuous, this one would ask one thing of you." He opened one eye to make contact with Liu's own gaze.

"Look for any skill books that might be among the stolen goods. Treatises of martial arts, scrolls depicting forms, even something as simple as a painting which might have hidden meaning. The man I faced yesterday, called Xu Lao, used a technique that harmonized his Qi with the elements of nature. I have never seen such a thing from a human opponent before; it would be worthwhile for such knowledge to be examined."

[VitaVitaAR]

Breakfast for Torako was rather eventually. She had taken a long, nice bath the previous night and calmed herself down. Oh, deep down, she was still angry about what she'd witnessed. But there was no point in dwelling on it unless it happened again. As such, she had let the warm water soak her skin, and had a nice, long rest in a comfortable bed, before awakening refreshed the next morning and putting on yet another pretty kimono. She had packed many, of course, for when one was not clean.

As of now, the pale-haired girl showed not even the barest sign of the violent and focused behavior she had displayed the previous knight. The ditzy human sinkhole had returned, ordered eight bowls of delicious soup, and proceeded to down them at great speed, as if someone would steal them if she did not. Soup vanished into her over and over and over again, and all she could think about was how utterly delicious it was in every way.

[Muttonhawk]

Kyang's mood on the way back into town could be described as quietly annoyed. The judgement calls of her companions had been grating, to the point where she didn't spare many words for them in the rest of the day. Thankfully, the local bureaucracy was not miserly in their reward. Kyang received enough gold in her share to live comfortably for at least a week. The sum actually left her wide-eyed. Thoughts churned around in her mind considering how far collecting the bounty on the bandit leader would take her.

The consideration of taking bounty hunting a little further laced an expression of thought across Kyang's face for the entire night. From the first bath she had taken in a week, to the light dinner she enjoyed at the inn, all the way to her bed. The last hour that she was awake was spent simply staring at the blade of her grandfather's glaive. Sure, it was an identifier that could out her as the missing girl from the Daeyang-gug capitol, but perhaps she wouldn't sell it just yet.

Kyang awoke with the first crowing rooster that she heard. Had she made a different decision, she might have emerged from her room in cleaner clothes and without her armour on. She was certainly the last person to be considered looking for a job as an aid or a scribe or some such. She had slept on her decision and found that the risk of taking on the bandit leader would be worth the reward. Now she just had to meet up with the others.

One of the others caught her eye as soon as she reached the main dining room. The piles of dripping, empty soup bowls around her gave Kyang some serious deja vu. Torako had been sombre and serious for just about the entire day after she had been set off, so Kyang approached cautiously behind her. "Hey, uh, Torako. Good morning?" Kyang leaned to one side, incredulous at the volume Torako had devoured. It was even more than yesterday, "How much longer do you think you'll be? Are you still coming with us, or...are you going to stay to finish feeding that army in your gut?" Kyang ran a finger carefully over one of the discarded bowls. She could have sworn that a chip on the bowls was caused by Torako's teeth. The thought made her brow furrow with astonishment.

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Liu's head turned as he heard Xin's words. Though both the location he was at and the way he was speaking confused the hunter a bit, Liu simply waved it off as some sort of training regimen before nodding.

"Assuming there are any left there, I'll see if I can't bring them along with the leader's head. Though... I'm just as curious as you are, actually. Even if I didn't see the incident for myself, I don't see you as the type to make up stories about this kind of ability. Such a skill... Has there been anything like it in the past?" he began to muse before nodding. "Anyhow, I should be off; if the other two are not up, a good walk might do well in clearing my head."

Waving once to the martial artist, Liu began to walk off around the town to get his body warmed up. The chilly morning air was enough to create dewdrops on the leaves on the trees around the village. That would soon fade away as the sun rose, though, so the boy paid it no heed. Even at this time, it was likely that the town was still trying to rise...

Just as the thought passed his mind, though, Liu noticed a stream of smoke rising from the roof of the Blue Dragon. Though this normally would've been a tad unusual...

"...She's up, isn't she?"

One last yawn escaping his lips, the young hunter casually walked into the restaurant, where he saw both Kyang and Torako near a table, just as their first meeting had had them. Was this going to be a routine from now on?
...
Did she have the money to do this every day? That was probably a better question.

"Morning. You two are up early; you sure so much soup is okay for you at this time of day?" he asked, pulling up a seat to wait for the others to respond.

[VitaVitaAR]

When Torako turned to Kyang, there wasn't the barest scrap of her behavior from the night before. No, there was nothing at all that resembled that person. Once again, there was a bright, cheerful expression, an enthusiastic smile between bowls of soup slurped down like her life depended on it. After a moment's pause, and a thoughtful expression, the light-haired girl came to a firm conclusion on the subject.

"An army couldn't fit in my stomach!"

With that, she happily returned to guzzling down soup. Oh, certainly, it wasn't like she wasn't aware that Kyang had already seen her... other side. The way Torako acted when she knew it was no longer time to simply enjoy herself and the company of others. When she felt it necessary to call upon her past. But that didn't mean she had to continue acting like that at all times, now, did it? Of course not. Torako loosened up specifically to avoid that. She didn't need to make herself be serious all the time. "... Oh, and I'll help out again, too!"

When Liu approached, she gave him a rather stern glare, a brief break from her previously-cheerful demeanor. And when he questioned her eating habits...

"... I eat what I want!"

Back to guzzling down soup.

[Muttonhawk]

Kyang leaned back where she stood and rubbed the back of her neck under the leather flaps of her helmet. "Alright, I'll take your word for it," she said, clearly unconvinced. She wasn't sure whether it was a good or a bad thing that Torako was back to her more cheerful self, but Kyang didn't see it as necessary to question her behaviour right now.

When Liu came into the restaurant, Kyang's expression went from confused to curious. "Oh, good morning, Liu," Kyang said as her eyes flicked to where Liu's arrow wound was, "It was kind of hard to sleep in with what the plans are today. How is your shoulder? Can I punch it without feeling bad?"

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

To say Torako's glance hurt wouldn't be that far from the truth; Liu knew full well what that look meant, even if he had only known the girl for the last day or so.

"...Fair enough, then. So long as you're prepared for what's going to happen today," he let out, shrugging his shoulders as he ordered his own breakfast: rice, broiled fish, and an egg. If nobody brought up the incidents of last night, then... Well, all the better for him. He would much rather that be forgotten as soon as possible either way. Kyang's response felt slightly... Foreboding, if that was the right word for it. Luckily enough, the injury he had sustained yesterday was as good as new, but...

"Well, I can't say I disagree. After all, we're going out manhunting again today," Liu nodded, glancing out the window at the slowly-changing sky. "But my arm's more or less fine by now; I can move it without any difficulty. Though... I'd rather it not be punched quite yet."

Flashing a pain smile at the polearm-wielding girl for a moment, Liu turned his attention to the still-growing stack of bowls from Torako's nonstop orders.
...
"Seriously, how do you drink so much? I swear, not even the heartiest of men in the village can down that much in one sitting!" he exclaimed, looking at the bowls stacking higher and higher. "Honestly, buffets would hate you..."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Liu turned back to the window, then at Kyang.

"Right. Once we're done here, we should probably get moving. The sooner we take the guy out and recover everything, the better... Assuming, of course, that the little Tiger Lily over here can still move."

That didn't take long, luckily enough; rather than having to wait for Torako to finish on her own, one of the waitresses came up to the group and kindly stated that, for all intents and purposes, they were out of soup and would have to make more to refill their stock.. The tower of bowls seemed to be of the verge of falling over, which was... Slightly distressing to everyone involved. Liu assumed the comment to be nothing more than a way to get her out of the place before they ran out of soup to serve to the guests who would come while Torako wasn't here, which was... Understandable.

"I guess that solves that, then. I'll go grab some food once we're done hunting the leader, so we should probably get moving. Suilong Mountain's a fair distance away, but we should be able to reach it in due time."

Standing up from his seat, Liu quickly pushed the chair back towards the table and promptly left the restaurant and moved off towards the gate and, subsequently, the bandit hideout. Hopefully, the other two were following close behind; he didn't want to have to worry like a mother duckling over its children to see if they were following, at the very least.

[VitaVitaAR]

"... Awww," Torako pouted, flopping on the table and causing the tower of empty bowls to worryingly rattle. However, thankfully, they did not topple. They were all out? But it was so good! ... She'd have to come back later, when they had more ingredients. Then she could indulge more. Or she could order even more food of different kinds... but it looked like it really was time to go. Swiftly, the light-haired girl paid for her meal and stretched, quickly heading back to the others.

"Okay, I'm ready!"

[Muttonhawk]

"Woah!" Kyang's eyes widened and a her mouth tensed down into a sharp frown as her hand shot out to save the stack of bowls from falling over. It was a relief that she only needed to hover her hand rather than catch the precarious tower. She let out an uneasy laugh as Torako stood up from her seat.

It was with reluctance that Kyang stepped away from the table to follow Liu out of the restaurant. If only for any stiff breeze likely wreaking havoc on half the restaurant's crockery. "Right...it's going to be a long walk. We shouldn't waste any more time."

When Liu looked behind, he would not be worried to find Kyang missing. Kyang returned his look with a frown and asked a question as they headed out. "So, I guess fire-head isn't coming along after all, huh? How do you think his duel will go? What will it mean if he wins?"

Kyang didn't want the trip to take too long, but she was curious if the town would suffer. It would be a shame if it did; she liked it here.

[Zeroth]

"Are you quite through showing off, outsider?"

Dai Xin opened one eye. He hadn't changed positions since Liu left; looking up at him down below was the same handsome, if brash, fellow from yesterday. Yuen, he believed, was the man's name. He still held the Nine Dragons Trident over one shoulder.

"Yes." The redhead hopped down from the rooftop, landing easily in front of the weapons master. Though they were almost equal in height, Dai Xin was the broader in build and had the more intimidating eyes. But Yuen didn't react save to sniff and turn on his heel.

"Good. Master Min is ready for you!"

A place had been prepared, a square of swept and flattened ground, and the Mingdu students sat around it with eager faces. A few of them looked at Dai Xin and exchanged glances and whispers with excitement. While he hadn't been welcomed at first, the story of his involvement with Liu's bounty hunt had helped to put him into the village's good graces somewhat. They still wanted to send him packing, of course, but now he was at least a warrior worth facing in their eyes, rather than an arrogant challenger. Yuen left him to walk into the square on his own, and the weapons master returned to the side of the short, unassuming old man. Grandmaster Min's choice of clothing today was a little more regal, a dark green coat with patterns of golden thread that formed a dragon wreathing along his arms and around his shoulders. As he took his time walking out to the square, the old man rolled the sleeves up past his bony wrists. Dai Xin did the same.

"How did you enjoy your tour yesterday, Master Dai?"

"It was pleasant. This one thanks you for lending him the young master Liu." Dai Xin bowed his head respectfully.

"Good, good." the old man chuckled as he scratched his chin. "Well then, I suppose we should make things clear before we start. Are you representing your school during this duel?"

"No. I do not teach my own school. I am an owner, at least in part, of several, but I do not represent them either. My challenge is solely for my own satisfaction. If I am killed, there will be no need to worry of revenge. I have no heirs nor students, and no close friends who would be angered by my defeat."

"How sad." Master Min frowned, and Dai Xin raised an eyebrow. "We study martial arts to understand ourselves, and the universe. But to understand other human beings, that is worth so much more. Are you not lonely, young man?"

Dai Xin looked away from the grandmaster's discerning gaze. He was silent for a moment, and his stony expression softened.

"There is nothing in this world I love more than the martial arts." His tone hinted at sadness, but he became resolute again. He stretched his fingers, before curling them into fists.

"I'm sure you just haven't met them yet." Min twisted this way and that, popping his back with a grunt. "But enough yammering, Master Dai! Shall we get started?"

The old man took his stance, and instantly all the cheer in his aura was gone. Dai Xin did the same. The wispy, translucent shroud of Qi began to rise from the two. Yuen stood at the side of the ring, now holding a mallet. Behind him, the students rolled up a large gong. He looked between his master and the challenger with narrowed eyes. Slowly he raised the mallet.

"The duel between Dai Xin, of the Fist of the Sky, and Grandmaster Min of Five Wheel Striking Style, is ready!"

The gong's bellow reverberated throughout the town itself.

"Begin!"

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

"Yeah, Xin decided to finish up his duel early today. I'm expecting him to be done by the time we clean up the bandit leader--earlier, actually. Though I respect his ability to fight, the headmaster is... How can I put it? Er... It feels like he transcends common knowledge, to be quite frank. There's a very good reason as to why he's still at charge, after all," Liu responded in kind as the three began a trek through the slightly-worn forest path to the mountainside. "Though he is an ally of ours, I have to be honest here; I'd put the odds at 90 to 10, in favor of the old man. Xin winning would be a momentous upset, and even then it's a stretch. Of course, I could just as well be saying this because I've known him for longer, but... Well, it's still a tough one."

The trek continued on for a few hours more, the sun rising into its regular position to lord over the land as it did. The forest, while dense, slowly cleared up as the trio's surroundings grew rockier the closer they got to the mountain. The green plants that surrounded the area rapidly began to become more scarce, being replaced by stones of various sizes lying around the area.

"You know... I realize now that we only know the general location and nothing more than that. Maybe I shouldn't have offed the guy so quickly..." Liu trailed off as the mountain began to grow closer and closer. "You want to try looking around for caves? Or do you think it'll be more hidden than that?"

[VitaVitaAR]

Torako seemed mostly oblivious to the conversation. Instead, she was trooping onward, eyes carrying over every little aspect of the terrain as she hummed to herself. It was an old Rikukoan folk song, about a little firefly and a dragon. The firefly glowed her brightest to outshine the dragon's resplendence, but exhausted herself in the process. The dragon, acknowledging the firefly's efforts, breathed life into her and she became the brightest star in the sky. To this day, she glows in the sky. At least, according to the song. It was all about trying your hardest, no-matter who you were. Torako liked it for that reason, and that's why she was humming it as she walked along. However, her focus was on something else.

The base was probably not out in the open... so they'd need to check every nook and cranny, wouldn't they? Torako strode ahead of the others and began to tap any rocks that looked slightly out of place, and big enough that they could be hiding something. Though really, it would probably be hidden further up, rather then down here...

"... Hmm... nope, none of these rocks! I don't think, at least..."

[Muttonhawk]

Kyang gave an acknowledging "hmph" to Liu as they walked. It sounded like the grand master was one of those 'uncarved block' types; the wisdom of the world in their being, but still appearing perfectly human. He probably has that easy-going attitude that they normally have, based on what Kyang briefly saw of him before.

The search as they approached the mountains required more focus, so chatter died down somewhat. In response to Liu's question about where they should look, Kyang squinted up at terrain ahead and breathed in to speak. However, before she could answer, she was interrupted by a tapping nearby. Kyang turned her head to see Torako apparently checking every rock she could find. Kyang actually suppressed a laugh and held a tight smile. That method would take forever. You're an odd case, Torako.

"If you know of caves around here, I see no reason not to check 'em out," Kyang said to her companions. "But, just to cover all avenues, keep an eye out for tracks, campfire smoke..." She shrugged, "We might even run into a scout or a lookout. Let's just try not to stumble into the den of an angry animal or spirit, mkay?"

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

"...Y'know, I'm fairly certain that tapping rocks won't get us anywhere in our investigation..." Liu trailed off as he watched Torako go around and poke any rock that seemed 'right' to her. It was a way to start, at least; he'd give her that much. But given what they knew about the bandits so far...

"I mean, if I knew the place I'm pretty sure people would've dragged me along to hunt down these bandits a while ago. As things stand, we might have to comb the place over to find anything. Though... I think we can narrow down the location, at the very least. I'll keep on the lookout for that kind of thing, though, Kyang, so bear with me here."

As the three continued to walk along, Liu began to list off what would make sense about the hideout's location.

"First and foremost, it's probably relatively close to where we are now. The main roads to and from the town are a while away, and the bandits hauling their loot back would have to deal with fatigue on top of likely having fought the people transporting the goods. Next, there's probably something inconspicuous hiding it... Assuming it isn't a cave, of course. A giant boulder in the middle of a forest, for example, sticks out like a sore thumb, especially if there are no signs of things like moss or the rock being worn away at any point. Now, underbrush, on the other hand..."

Liu continued on, beginning to veer off the path to look around for anything unnatural; a trail of crushed plants, for example. To hide a tree in a forest would be no hard feat, after all. But...

"I mean, there's always a chance I could be wrong about this. Either way, we need to find the place and strike before any of the bandits start catching on that those others have been missing... Which, to be honest, I'm worried they might have already."

[VitaVitaAR]

Torako seemed oblivious to anyone who had pointed out her efforts seemed futile. Instead, she proceeded along the dry path, through the forest on either sides, checking every single notable boulder that she could find and thoroughly as possible with their progression upwards. Foliage seemed to grow more and more sparse as they went, and so Torako took note of any odd disturbances in the thinning underbrush as well. Needless to say, the pale-haired girl had the eyes of a hawk. A rather odd, somewhat easily-distracted hawk, but she was looking closely at every little detail. This is, perhaps, why she spotted a rather odd outcropping of rocks and foliage.

If someone hadn't been looking, it wouldn't have seemed too odd. But it was a thicker patch out further then all the rest... placing one hand on Taketori, Torako forged onward, rustling through a few scattered shrubs. It was some mossy stone and plants, in a large patch that looked quick a bit big enough to hide some kind of passage in the ground...

Kneeling down, Torako began pushing rocks out of the way. Something wooden, and certainly man-made, was visible under the plants... which now were clearly not actually attached. Well, some were, but not all of them...

"... There's a wooden thingy! Under the stuff!"

How descriptive.

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Liu's failure to find any semblance of any sort of entrance nearer to the forest was marginally irritating, but it was a feeling he had gotten used to after months of hunting in the forests near Mingdu. Every trace of activity has either been too old to make use of or too different from a human's to be... Well, a human's. Just as the hunter was about to go move on to the other side of the road, though, he heard Torako calling out to both him and Kyang.

"...A wooden thingy. Under the stuff. Okay. Well, I mean... Broken carriages are a thing, right?" he muttered to himself, casually walking over to where Torako was in order to see what she had been clamoring about. Somehow...

"...You actually found it. Wow. I'm impressed," Liu said, patting the girl on the head as a joke before kneeling down next to whatever it was that was being covered. Carefully brushing away the cover, the 'wooden thing' made itself to be a trapdoor of sorts. Taking a deep breath, Liu began to lift the door...

Only to be denied by... A lock.

"...You know, I should've seen this coming."

With a sigh, Liu backed away and turned to his companions, shrugging his shoulders.

"You think we should just... Bust the door down and throw caution to the wind?"

[Muttonhawk]

While Torako was being particular in her search, Kyang was looking more broadly, trying to find spots that would make sense to hold a secret hiding place given the circumstances. She wasn't having much luck. Though, the last thing she expected was for Torako's search to find something out of nowhere. Kyang's ears prickled and she turned her head to see what she had found. Come to think of it, that foliage is a little thicker than usual over there.

By the time Kyang strode over, Liu already tried and failed to open what was evidently some kind of cellar door built in the middle of the forest. Kyang was impressed; an underground hideout would have taken a lot longer to build than anything else. Either that or this was just a smaller stash for loot and supplies. Either way, it was a good find. "Good job, Torako," Kyang mentioned as an aside. She didn't quite go as far as a head pat.

Kyang's thoughts resonated with Liu's words when the doors proved to be locked. The corner of her mouth curled upwards in contemplation as she put a fist on her hip and hummed in thought. One possibility came to mind that Kyang hadn't employed since her days of sneaking out of her home. She stepped up to the door and knelt down. It didn't take long to find what she was looking for; a keyhole.

"Hey...Torako?" Kyang began to say without looking away from the door. She lifted a palm up behind herself, "You wouldn't happen to have a hairpin I could borrow, would you?"